Donating to Charity As a Gift? 3 Cards to Make Your Loved Ones Smile

It’s a totally thoughtful way to show you care during the holidays. A gift from the heart, not a shopping cart.

But can I be honest?

A donation as a gift is kind of lame.

If you’re lucky, the charity will send your loved one a note to let them know about your donation. Which is sort of on par with texting a marriage proposal. Impersonal and heartless – exactly the wrong fit for that kind of gift.

More often than not, though, you’re left with having to let your loved one know. Let’s say for your favorite Aunt Susan, you made a donation in her name to the animal shelter where she found her beloved labradoodle Flopsy.

So you find the perfect card at the store with a super cute dog on the front. Thinking of your sweet aunt, you sit down and write a message about how much she means to you and that you can’t wait for her next visit.

Then you get to the point where you’re going to tell her what you’ve done. But it feels a bit…self-serving.

I made a donation in your name.

Love,
Your Goody Two-Shoes Niece

I mean, you want CREDIT. It is a thoughtful gift. You just can’t bring yourself to write it all out in your own handwriting. It looks like you’re trying too hard.

To solve this problem, I created three cards specially designed for donation gifts.

3 Free Cards to Give With a Donation Gift

These cards do the heavy lifting for you – telling your loved one you made a donation in their name. All you do is fill in the charity’s name and add a personal note, if you’d like.

Download Your Free Donation Cards

Print. Any paper will do the trick, but card stock would be ideal. Be sure to print double-sided, with the flip on short edge setting.

Fill in the charity name, sign, and throw in an envelope. You’re done! (Unless you haven’t made the actual donation yet. You’ll probably want to make sure that happens at some point.)

Your Turn

How do you feel when you receive a donation as a gift? Share in a comment below!

Hi, I'm Kelly. I'm a mom of four, a recovering perfectionist, and the author of Happy You, Happy Family. Parenting is hard enough without all the guilt we heap on top of ourselves. So let's stop trying to be perfect parents and just be real ones. Sound good? Join my mailing list and as a bonus, you'll get 25+ incredibly helpful cheat sheets that will ease your parenting struggles.

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will h

i truly do love when people donate almost anywhere in my name. i don’t need more stuff. but i had to laugh out loud at this… because your seemingly generic example… “aunt susan”… well, i have an aunt susan. and i just got the email today from her/heifer international about our donation / gift. :) to quote homer simpson, “it’s funny because it’s true” thanks for letting your sneaky humor out into the world.

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Kelly @ IdealistMom.com

Will, thank you for your comment! That Aunt Susan is good stuff. I also love donations as gifts. Another cool gift tradition I’ve heard about (and think I may wrangle the family into trying next year) is the 4-gift rule: something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read.

Also, can I just say I’m flattered that you appreciated my “sneaky humor”? I’m a BIG fan of your awesomely funny t-shirts!

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Jack

Thanks for putting thought into this and providing cards for us to deal with this awkward situation!

I don’t want credit for anything, I just want “Aunt Susan” to know that I didn’t forget about her, that I love and appreciate her, and that someone somewhere in the world is better off because of her (she suggested the donation gift). It still feels a little awkward, as though I’m trying to show that I want credit for being Mr. Goody-two-shoes, but I guess I should just stop overthinking things!

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Hi! I'm Kelly. I'm a mom of four, a recovering perfectionist, and author. I believe you can find happiness in the chaos of parenting life. Start here…